Birth declaration

Reporting the birth of a child is a compulsory procedure. It enables the civil registrar to create the legal existence of a person by drawing up the birth certificate.

As a general rule, the father declares the birth. On this occasion, he must indicate the chosen first name(s). Anyone who witnessed the birth (mother, co-parent, health personnel, etc.) can also make this declaration.

The declaration of birth must be made within a maximum of 5 days of the child's arrival. If the 5th day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline is extended to the next working day.

If this deadline is not met, the civil registrar will only be able to draw up the birth certificate by court order. In this case, the parents risk criminal sanctions.

Births can be registered at the town hall. For greater simplicity, civil registrars are on duty at three of the city's maternity hospitals: the CHU Arnaud de Villeneuve, the Clinique Saint-Roch and the Clinique Clémentville.

For deliveries at the Clinique Saint-Roch

The declaration is made at the Civil Registry counter located at reception on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 9am to 12pm and from 1pm to 5pm.

For deliveries at the Clémentville clinic

The declaration is made at the Civil Status counter located at reception on Mondays and Fridays from 9am to 12pm and from 1pm to 5pm, and on Wednesdays from 9am to 12pm.

For deliveries at CHU Arnaud de Villeneuve

The declaration is made at the Civil Registry counter located at reception on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 12pm and from 1pm to 5pm.

Declaring at the town hall

It is possible to declare a birth at the Civil Status department located at the Town Hall, Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm (10am-7pm on Thursdays).

In principle, a child born to a married couple takes the father's surname. The child of an unmarried couple takes the name of the parent who recognizes him or her, or that of the father in the case of joint recognition. But when declaring the birth of their first child, the parents have the option of making a joint declaration of name.

This document allows them to choose the surname of their first joint child. It can be the father's mother's name, or both their names together in the order they decide.

Please note: all children of the same couple must bear the same surname.

The person wishing to declare a birth must present the following supporting documents:

• the birth certificate provided by the midwives;
• identity documents for each of the parents and their copies;
• the joint declaration of choice of name form (if applicable) signed by the 2 parents ;
• the family record book (livret de famille), if any, or the application for a family record book (livret de famille);
• the prenatal recognition certificate (if any);
• a copy of the declarant's proof of address less than 3 months old.

If the parents are not married, the arrival of a first child is an opportunity to receive a livret de famille, provided that one of the two parents is of French nationality. This includes the parents' birth certificates, and will be updated with the children's birth certificates.

After the birth declaration, parents will receive the child's birth certificate. This will need to be presented to various authorities:

• Tax authorities;
• Family allowance funds;
• Social security funds;
• Health supplements and insurers...

Service attendance table

To avoid waiting too long, this table lets you know how busy the service is throughout the week. We recommend that you plan your visit or call during low-traffic periods. This information is provided for information only, and is not a guarantee of actual waiting times.

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